cost accounting

American  

noun

1. an accounting system indicating the cost of items involved in production.

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cost accounting British  

noun

1. Also called: management accounting.  the recording and controlling of all the expenditures of an enterprise in order to facilitate control of separate activities

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Other Word Forms

• cost accountant
  noun

Etymology

Origin of cost accounting

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cost accounting

Some programs used to evaluate their curricula on a three- or five-year cycle because foundational subjects like financial and cost accounting rarely changed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026

In many ways, true cost accounting is a modern and improved version of cost-benefit analysis, a method embedded in governmental decision-making in most advanced economies around the world.

From Salon ● Feb. 28, 2024

The key is a method called true cost accounting, which examines the economic, environmental, social and health impacts of food production and consumption to produce a broader picture of its costs and benefits.

From Salon ● Feb. 28, 2024

To fully complete the calculations needed for 263A, you’ll be required to use figures and tables that are appropriate for the cost accounting method used in your specific category.

From Encyclopedia.com ● Jun. 26, 2018

Each separate business, the bakeries, the pool room, the meat shop, was put on a cost accounting basis and the manager knew just which one was making or losing money.

From Consumers' Cooperative Societies in New York State by The Consumers' League of New York